With few exceptions, all poker games place hands on the same scale from high- to low-value. Poker hands are ranked depending on their likelihood. The least-likely hands are the highest-ranked; the most common hands are the lowest-ranked. Identical poker hands are ranked by which hands holds cards of the highest value.

Poker Hand Ran

Here is the standard hand rank, from highest to lowest:

• With few exceptions, all poker games place hands on the same scale from high- to low-value. Poker hands are ranked depending on their likelihood. The least-likely hands are the highest-ranked; the most common hands are the lowest-ranked. Identical poker hands are ranked by which hands holds cards of the highest value.
• The poker hand rankings are a fundamental part of poker and there’s a good chance you’re not going to win if you don’t know what hand wins. Fortunately it’s pretty easy to understand poker hand rankings and they are the same for all the most popular poker games including Texas Hold’em, Pot-Limit Omaha and Seven-Card Stud.
• The poker hand probability chart shows the odds of making a specific hand type by the showdown. It is valid for any 7-card poker variant, including Texas Holdem and 7 Card Stud. The chart assumes that you have a random hole cards. Some hole cards (for example pocket pairs), are more likely to make a good hand by the river.
• Eliminating identical hands that ignore relative suit values leaves 6,009,159 distinct 7-card hands. The number of distinct 5-card poker hands that are possible from 7 cards is 4,824. Perhaps surprisingly, this is fewer than the number of 5-card poker hands from 5 cards because some 5-card hands are impossible with 7 cards (e.g.

Razz poker is a stud poker variation of lowball poker. It is essentially a variation within a variation, which is part of the game’s charm. The poker hand hierarchy is inverted for razz poker games. Therefore, the best hand is five high hand that is a 5-4-3-2-A hand. Card suits are not of importance in razz poker.

1. Royal Flush

Five cards ranking 10 to Ace of the same suit. The only unbeatable hand.

2. Straight Flush
   Five cards of the same suit in consecutive order.
3. Four of a Kind
   A hand containing four identically-ranked cards.
4. Full House
   A hand containing a pair and a three-of-a-kind.
5. Flush
   A hand containing five cards of the same suit.
6. Straight
   A hand containing five cards (unsuited) in consecutive order.
7. Three-of-a-Kind
   A hand containing three identically-ranked cards.
8. Two Pair
   A hand containing two matched pairs of cards.
9. Pair
   A hand containing a match pair of cards.

Playing a live game of poker requires that you know this hierarchy. For new players, this may seem a little daunting. After all, here you have nine pieces of complex information to remember in precise order.

A Word about Mnemonic Devices

I learned the order of poker hands using a mnemonic. I think anyone can use this simple method to learn the hierarchy in a matter of minutes. Mnemonics are popular memory devices used by students, teachers, and people of all stripes for hundreds of years in order to remember complex information.

You probably used a mnemonic device to remember the order of the planets in our solar system. I remember learning the sentence: “My very excellent mother just served us nine pizzas.” The first letter of each of the words in that sentence will help you remember that the planets go in this order – Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto. I’ll probably never forget that fact, thanks to the mnemonic device I was taught.

The trouble is, it’s hard to convert hand rankings into words. Besides that, I don’t think you learn much about poker by simply memorizing the order of hands. You should use the opportunity of needing to learn proper hand hierarchy to improve your understanding of poker strategy.

The tips below will help you understand the proper order of poker hands better and introduce you to some basic poker concepts to help you improve your overall game.

Low-Value Poker Hands

To remember the order of the four lowest-value hands, just remember the number series “0, 1, 2, 3.”

• 0 means “high card.” Having nothing in your hand means the value of your hand depends on the value of your highest card. Remember – in poker, aces rank high, while 2’s rank low.
• 1 means “one pair.” Any hand that contains just a single pair of cards and nothing else valuable is a 1.
• 2 means “two pair.” This is a hand that contains two pairs of cards.
• 3 means “three-of-a-kind.” It’s the most valuable of the low-value hands.

High-Value Poker Hands

For the purpose of this post, I’m calling every hand above a three-of-a-kind a “high-value hand,” but lots of poker strategists would consider a straight to be a low-value hand. This is really a difference in philosophy and a language issue more than anything else.

For that reason, and for simplicity’s sake, I like to think of straight as a “/” symbol in my mnemonic. That means our current mnemonic string goes: “0, 1, 2, 3, /.”

It’s easier to memorize the order of the other high-ranking hands if you count the number of letters in the hand’s name. It’s made all the easier to remember by the fact that the number of letters increases as you move up the scale.

Here’s how I break it down:

• 5 – The word flush contains five letters.
• 9 – The words full house contain nine letters.
• 11 – The words four of a kind contain eleven letters.
• 13 – The words straight flush contain thirteen letters.
• 18 – The words royal straight flush contain eighteen letters.

Putting them all together, our mnemonic is: “0 – 1 – 2 – 3 / 5 – 9 – 11 – 13 – 18.”

Other Ways to Memorize Hand Hierarchy

I’m not going to pretend that the method I used to learn hand hierarchy is the only one that will work. The three ideas below are the most popular tactics on the Web besides the use of mnemonics, based on my research. You can use any of the four methods described on this post to keep track of what hand beats what other hand. That way, you’ll be able to plan your tactics ahead of time and make smart bidding decisions.

Rote Memorization

Some people learn best by repeated drilling of the material to be memorized. I’ve heard of actors reading their scripts over and over, playing tapes of the script in their sleep, and learning their lines by rote. I can’t think of any reason why you shouldn’t try this method.

Hand Evaluation Diagrams

Various poker trainer programs and strategy gurus have put together diagrams to help you analyze your hand. You can use these in poker rooms, and obviously you can use them online, so long as you don’t care about the other guys at the table making fun of you. They’re available for free with a simple Google search.

Frequent Exposure

The more rounds of poker you play, the more you’ll become familiar with all the rules, including the rules of hand ranking. You may lose a bunch on the way there, because of your lack of familiarity with hand ranks, but, you’ll get it eventually.

Conclusion

Remember that some poker variations assign different values to cards and hands. Some games are totally reversed, rewarding the lowest-value hand instead of the highest-value one. Other games may consider an Ace to be low, or use Jokers, which throws off the hierarchy and strategy a bit.

I hope that this page helped you learn about the value of the cards you’re dealt. I believe the best way to practice your newfound understanding of hand hierarchy is to get out there and play a bunch of poker. If you’re still new to the game and not yet comfortable with your understanding of hand rankings, you can always play in free-to-play apps or use play-money at your favorite online poker room.

Standard Poker Hand Rankings

There are 52 cards in the pack, and the ranking of the individual cards, from high to low, is ace, king, queen, jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2. There is no ranking between the suits - so for example the king of hearts and the king of spades are equal.

A poker hand consists of five cards. The categories of hand, from highest to lowest, are listed in the chart below. Any hand in a higher category beats any hand in a lower category (so for example any three of a kind beats any two pairs). Between hands in the same category the rank of the individual cards decides which is better, as described in more detail below.

In games where a player has more than five cards and selects five to form a poker hand, the remaining cards do not play any part in the ranking. Poker ranks are always based on five cards only.

1. Royal Flush

This is the highest poker hand. It consists of ace, king, queen, jack and ten, all in the same suit. As all suits are equal, all royal flushes are equal.

2. Straight Flush

Five cards of the same suit in sequence - such as J-10-9-8-7. Between two straight flushes, the one containing the higher top card is higher. An ace can be counted as low, so 5-4-3-2-A is a straight flush, but its top card is the five, not the ace, so it is the lowest type of straight flush. The cards cannot 'turn the corner': 4-3-2-A-K is not valid.

3. Four of a kind

Four cards of the same rank - such as four queens. The fifth card can be anything. This combination is sometimes known as 'quads', and in some parts of Europe it is called a 'poker', though this term for it is unknown in English. Between two fours of a kind, the one with the higher set of four cards is higher - so 3-3-3-3-A is beaten by 4-4-4-4-2. It can't happen in standard poker, but if in some other game you need to compare two fours of a kind where the sets of four cards are of the same rank, then the one with the higher fifth card is better.

4. Full House

This consists of three cards of one rank and two cards of another rank - for example three sevens and two tens (colloquially known as 'sevens full' or more specifically 'sevens on tens'). When comparing full houses, the rank of the three cards determines which is higher. For example 9-9-9-4-4 beats 8-8-8-A-A. If the threes of a kind were equal, the rank of the pairs would decide.

5. Flush

Five cards of the same suit. When comparing two flushes, the highest card determines which is higher. If the highest cards are equal then the second highest card is compared; if those are equal too, then the third highest card, and so on. For example K-J-9-3-2 beats K-J-7-6-5 because the nine beats the seven.

6. Straight

Five cards of mixed suits in sequence - for example Q-J-10-9-8. When comparing two sequences, the one with the higher ranking top card is better. Ace can count high or low in a straight, but not both at once, so A-K-Q-J-10 and 5-4-3-2-A are valid straights, but 2-A-K-Q-J is not. 5-4-3-2-A is the lowest kind of straight, the top card being the five.

Poker Hand Hierarchy Printable

7. Three of a Kind

Three cards of the same rank plus two other cards. This combination is also known as Triplets or Trips. When comparing two threes of a kind the hand in which the three equal cards are of higher rank is better. So for example 5-5-5-3-2 beats 4-4-4-K-Q. If you have to compare two threes of a kind where the sets of three are of equal rank, then the higher of the two remaining cards in each hand are compared, and if those are equal, the lower odd card is compared.

8. Two Pairs

A pair is two cards of equal rank. In a hand with two pairs, the two pairs are of different ranks (otherwise you would have four of a kind), and there is an odd card to make the hand up to five cards. When comparing hands with two pairs, the hand with the highest pair wins, irrespective of the rank of the other cards - so J-J-2-2-4 beats 10-10-9-9-8 because the jacks beat the tens. If the higher pairs are equal, the lower pairs are compared, so that for example 8-8-6-6-3 beats 8-8-5-5-K. Finally, if both pairs are the same, the odd cards are compared, so Q-Q-5-5-8 beats Q-Q-5-5-4.

9. Pair

A pair is a hand with two cards of equal rank and three other cards which do not match these or each other. When comparing two such hands, the hand with the higher pair is better - so for example 6-6-4-3-2 beats

Poker Hand Hierarchy & Odds

5-5-A-K-Q. If the pairs are equal, compare the highest ranking odd cards from each hand; if these are equal compare the second highest odd card, and if these are equal too compare the lowest odd cards. So J-J-A-9-3 beats J-J-A-8-7 because the 9 beats the 8.

10. High Card

Five cards which do not form any of the combinations listed above. When comparing two such hands, the one with the better highest card wins. If the highest cards are equal the second cards are compared; if they are equal too the third cards are compared, and so on. So A-J-9-5-3 beats A-10-9-6-4 because the jack beats the ten.

A plastic wallet sized Poker Card Ranking card is available at F.G. Bradley’s stores or online here.